THE CHATTANOOGA QUEENS
THE OFFICIAL HOME OF
The Origin Of Our Sport
Where does rugby come from?
Rugby is said to have originated at Rugby School in Warwickshire, England, in 1823 when during a game of football, William Webb Ellis decided to pick up a ball and go with it. Although there is very little evidence to support this theory, the Rugby World Cup Trophy is now named after William Webb Ellis.
In 1863 a collection of boarding schools and clubs decided upon a rule set and 1871 Rugby Football Union was officially formed. That same year, the first ever international match was played between England and Scotland with Scotland taking the win 1-0.
Rugby At The Olympics
In 1900, rugby union was introduced to the Summer Olympics by Pierre de Coubertin, who had previously refereed the first French domestic championship as well as France's first international game. France, Germany and Great Britain all entered teams for the olympics, and France won gold by defeating both opponents.
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Rugby actually drew the largest crowd at that particular games - it was next played at the 1908 games in London, with Australia winning, by defeating Great Britain.
Even though rugby drew some of the biggest crowds at the games, it was eventually dropped in 1924.
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By 1908 all three major Southern Hemisphere nations (New Zealand, Australia and South Africa) had formed teams and sent them on international trips to play against the Northern Hemisphere nations. As a side fact, the first time the Haka was performed by New Zealand prior to a match was in 1905, which the Welsh responded to by having Teddy Morgan sing the Welsh national anthem. Soon enough the crowd joined in, which was the first time a national anthem was sung prior to a sporting event.
The Rugby World Cup
The first Rugby World Cup was played in 1987 and was held in Australia and New Zealand - both semi-finals were played in Australia while the final was played in New Zealand, with the All Blacks defeating France in the final.
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By the 3rd rugby world cup, South Africa was back from international exile, and was able to not only host the tournament, but also beat the All Blacks in the final. The tournament became a turning point for South Africa as well, as then President Nelson Mandela, was able to hand over the William Webb Ellis trophy, to Francois Pienaar, dressed in a Springbok jersey which had long been a symbol of apartheid.
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NOOGA RUGBY
Our brother team, the Chattanooga Lions was established in 1978. Making them one of the oldest rugby clubs in the south. If you are interested in joining the men's team, check out their website here.
Nooga Queens Rugby
In 2005, a small group of women who loved rugby started informally practicing together in Chattanooga. The first few years, the team competed unofficially in mostly noncompetitive matches. Steadily, the team rounded into form and by 2009, the team had a deeper roster consisting of old girls, known as
“rugger huggers”, and UTC alumni.
We joined forces with the Nashville and Knoxville areas to create “KnoxNashNooga”. This team lasted for some time until Nashville and Knoxville became sovereign teams of the True South.
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The Chattanooga women continued to play 7’s independently, but were unable to commit to a 15’s season while trying to spearhead the UTC women’s rugby team. Over the next few years, the team struggled with consistency, featuring several different leaders and key players until they finally disbanded in 2014.
However, in February 2019, the ‘Nooga Women’s Rugby Club was resurrected under the name “Chattanooga Queens”, and quickly gathered dedication and support from local communities. We are now a fully established unit with representation from both 7’s and 15’s
competitive sides.​
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You can review the Queens Official Bylaws here.
